Adult, Youth and Family Education
From walks to workshops to full-day seminars, Wegerzyn's horticulture and environmental education programs
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The 20th Miami Valley Gardening Conference presents a look at the past, present and future of gardening in our area. Join keynote speakers Thomas Rainer (The American Garden in a Post-Wild World) and Kelly Norris (Dig This: Stylish Gardening for Savvy Gardeners) and ten other local gardening experts as they explore the way we garden and how it has and will continue to change. Fee $50 includes lunch, snacks, covered parking, and all materials.

Walk-in registration will be accepted on the day of the conference. Please call 277-6545 for information.

SCHEDULE: Subject to change

7:30 am

Registration

8:05 am

Welcome

8:15 am

Morning Keynote: The American Garden in a Post-Wild World - Thomas Rainer

Kelly D. Norris is a 20-something, award-winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the first horticulture manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a newly revitalized 14-acre public garden in Des Moines, Iowa. He's popularly known for his book A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts from Timber Press, which won the 2013 American Horticultural Society Book Award, and is at work on his next project tentatively titled Dig This: Stylish Gardening with Kickass Plants. As a speaker, he has garnered acclaim for his high-energy, zealous presentations on the national stage, leading many to call him one of the rising stars of American horticulture. Kelly's unique 10 years of experience in the industry began at age 15 when he talked his parents into buying a nursery (Rainbow Iris Farm), and in that time he's become one of the few gurus on marketing horticulture to emerging demographics. Learn more >>

Thomas Rainer

Thomas Rainer is a registered landscape architect, teacher, and writer living in Arlington, Virginia. Thomas is a passionate advocate for an ecologically expressive design aesthetic that does not imitate nature, but interprets it. His planting designs focus on creating a modern expression of the ground plane with a largely native palette of perennials and grasses. Thomas has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden, as well as over 100 gardens from Maine to Florida. Learn more >>

Teacher Track

Educators who want to create and use a garden or habitat at their school and get students learning outdoors while staying within the curriculum should attend the sessions in the teacher track. Educators also will learn from and develop relationships with those who already are using green schoolyards in their curriculum. The Green Schoolyards Development Training will show educators:

Steps to a successful school Garden
Learn the steps to creating and maintaining a successful greenspace. We'll discuss how to get your school invested, where to find resources, and how to make the program last.

Garden Discovery through the Seasons
Learn specific activities to do and plants to grow to engage your students in the garden each month of the year.

Tying Curriculum and Standards to the Garden
Listen to a local teacher describe how she uses curriculum in the garden. We'll go over sample lesson plans and discuss connections between the garden and Common Core requirements.

Teachers who attend all three sessions of the Green Schoolyards Development Training will receive certificate of completion, which they can use toward CEUs. Teacher track sessions are marked with "Teacher Track" on the session listings at left. Make sure to select these sessions in the registration process.

"Protecting the region's natural heritage and providing outdoor experiences that inspire a personal connection with nature."